Gun sling

ABSTRACT

A GUN SLING INCLUDING A SOCKET-SHAPED STOCK RECEIVER PIVOTED AT ITS FORWARD END TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE STOCK OF GUN, THE REAR OF THE RECEIVER BEING CONNECTED TO A STRAP EXTENDING TO A CONVENTIONAL STRAP TERMINAL ON THE FRONT PORTION OF THE GUN.

p 20, 1971 E. c. BROKUS 3,606,109

. GUN SLING Filed Dec. 5. 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Edward C. Brokus A TmRNE Y p .1971 E. c. BROKUS 3,606,109

GUN SLING Filed Dec. 5, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 7

1 INVENTOR.

- Edward C. Brokus BY A TTORNEY 3,606,109 GUN SLING Edward C. Brokus, 4050 Herman Ave. SW., Wyoming, Mich. 49509 Filed Dec. 5, 1969, Ser. No. 882,641 Int. Cl. F41c 33/00 US. Cl. 224-1A 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A gun sling including a socket-shaped stock receiver pivoted at its forward end to the underside of the stock of a gun, the rear of the receiver being connected to a strap extending to a conventional strap terminal on the front portion of the gun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Slings have been associated with rifles for at least one hundred years, and a somewhat less frequent use of these devices has also been made in conjunction with shotguns. The general purpose of these devices is to relieve the user of the gun of the burden of carrying the weight of the gun with his arms, except during the relatively short periods in which the gun is in use. The conventional sling amounts to a strap connected at one end to a terminal on the forward portion of the gun, the opposite end of the strap being connected to a terminal at the underside of the rear portion of the stock. Such an arrangement necessarily results in an inverted carrying position of the gun, which necessitates re-orienting the gun when the moment arrives to shoot it. This maneuver becomes very inconvenient in close quarters, or with heavy clothing. Connecting the rear portion of the gun to the strap somewhere on the top of the stock would produce an unacceptable obstruction to bringing the butt of the stock up against the shoulder in shooting position. This maneuver must be made with the sling still extending over the shoulder, unless a completely unacceptable lapse of time is involved which would be sufiicient to slip the strap over the head, and into some non-interfering position. With the strap extending over the shoulders, the moment the gun is lifted up into shooting position, any strap connection terminating at the top of the stock will extend around under the arm, and interfere with the raising of the rear portion of the gun. This problem has minimized the use of slings, which are considered to be more of a nuisance than a benefit in cases where quick snap-shooting is involved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a gun sling which includes a socket-shaped receiver loosely fitted to the underside of the rear of the stock, and pivoted at its forward end to the underside of the stock so that the receiver is free to drop down into a position depending from the pivot connection when the weight of the gun is no longer carried by a strap connected to the rear portion of the stock receiver. This fall-away characteristic of the stock receiver permits the butt of the stock to be placed quickly against the shoulder without any interference whatever from the sling assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The several features of the invention will be analyzed in detail through a discussion of the figures of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the rear portion of a conventional rifle provided with the sling assembly of the present invention, in the carrying position.

United States Patent 3,606,109 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 ice FIG. 2 is a view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1, showing the sling assembly in the shooting position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the position of the rifle and sling on a hunter, with the sling assembly in the FIG. 1 position.

FIG. 4 illustrates the position of the components of the sling assembly on the hunter, in the shooting position of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a top view, on an enlarged scale, showing the construction of the stock receiver. FIG. 5 is a section on the plane 5-5 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the receiver shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a section on the plane 77 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a pattern, in the fiat, showing the configuration of the metal core plate incorporated in the receiver construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the gun generally indicated at 10 has a stock 11 provided with an oval-shaped ring 12 secured to the underside. A short strap 13 connected to the stock receiver 14 provides a pivotal connection for the receiver to permit it to swing from the FIG. 1 to the FIG. 2 position. The rear of the stock receiver is fitted with a conventional swivel terminal 15 for the strap 16. The opposite end of the strap is connected to the conventional strap terminal 17 at the forward portion of the gun. FIG. 3 illustrates the carrying position of the sling assembly, in which the weight of the gun is suspended from the shoulders of the hunter by the sling assembly, with the strap 16 being adjustable in length by manipulation of the buckles 18 and 19. As the gun is raised from the FIG. 3 carrying position to the FIG. 4 shooting position, the stock receiver 14 falls down into a position depending from the ring 12. This downward swinging movement is facilitated, and occasionally initiated, by the engagement of the rear portion of the receiver with the arm of the hunter as the gun is raised so that the butt of the stock rests against the shoulder. The projection of the rear portion 20 of the receiver beyond the rear surface 21 of the butt facilitates the disengagement of the stock receiver so that it can swing downward into the FIG. 2 position.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the preferred construction of the receiver 14 is essentially a metal core plate shaped to the configuration shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 from a flat pattern similar to that of FIG. 8. This plate 22 is bent from the flat so that the portion 23 becomes U-shaped in configuration along a left-right axis, as viewed in FIG. 8. The portion 24 is then wrapped around into a U-shaped configuration about a vertical axis to form the stiffening member for the rear portion of the receiver. Pieces of leather, or leather-like material, are laid over the inside and outside of the plate 22, these being cut to a size that extends beyond the edges of the plate to permit the application of stitching which unites the leather pieces and confines the metal plate between them. This stitching is indicated at 25 and 26 in FIGS. 6 and 7.

The rear portion of the receiver is traversed by a com ponent of the conventional swivel fitting 15, which is secured'in place by the nut 27. To isolate the butt of the gun from this fitting, and also to maintain a projection of the receiver beyond the butt of the gun, a transverse barrier strap 28 is secured at its opposite sides to the sides of the receiver. This securing can either be through the use of rivets as shown at 29-32, or the ends of the strap 28 may be incorporated in the stitched seam 33a. This same alternative is present with regard to the securing of the adjacent portions of the inner cover 33 and the outer cover 34. The use of the stitching eliminates the presence of a relatively hard surface of the rivets, but the riveted assembly eliminates what might become a somewhat difiicult stitching operation. Where the stitching is used to secure the strap 28, as well as the junction of the rear portion of the receiver with the side, the length of the portion 24 of the core plate (together with the overlaid portions of cover material) would be shortened accordingly over the relationship illustrated in FIG. 5. The securing of the free end of the strap 13 to form a loop is preferably accomplished through the use of a conventional curtain fastener 35, the securing of which also secures the fixed end of the strap 13, as shown in FIG. 7.

I claim:

1. In combination with a gun having a stock and a sling terminal, a sling assembly including a tension-transmitting member secured at one end to said terminal, wherein the improvement comprises:

a socket-shaped stock receiver shaped to conform loosely to the lower rear portion of said stock, said receiver being pivotally connected at the forward end thereof to the underside of said stock, the rear portion of said receiver being connected to said tension-transmitting member.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said tension-transmitting member is a strap.

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said strap engages a terminal fitting secured to and traversing the rearmost portion of said receiver, and said receiver is provided with a transverse barrier strap disposed to engage the rear surface of said stock in spaced relationship with said terminal fitting.

4. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said receiver has a sheet metal core covered on both sides by pieces of a leather-like material, said pieces being united by, stitching traversing portions of said pieces that overlap said core.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1963 Bagby 224--l.1 3/1969 Gregson 224-4 

